Chapter 15 of History of English Literature from "Beowulf" to Swinburne is here in full — 93 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of History of English Literature from "Beowulf" to Swinburne is here in full — 93 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
POPULAR POETRY. BALLADS. The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in England and Scotland were rich in popular poetry and in ballads. We must define the meaning of "popular" and "ballad" poetry, as used in this chapter. Much confusion and much controversy exist regarding this matter of ballads and popular poetry.
Chapter 15 of History of English Literature from "Beowulf" to Swinburne is here in full — 93 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/18 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
From this reading “We must define the meaning of "popular" and "ballad" poetry, as used in this chapter.”
plural of “ballad” — a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
From this reading “BALLADS.”
plural of “century” — a period of 100 years
From this reading “The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in England and Scotland were rich in popular poetry and in ballads.”
a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement
From this reading “Much confusion and much controversy exist regarding this matter of ballads and popular poetry.”
determine the essential quality of
From this reading “We must define the meaning of "popular" and "ballad" poetry, as used in this chapter.”
have an existence, be extant
From this reading “Much confusion and much controversy exist regarding this matter of ballads and popular poetry.”
coming next after the fourteenth and just before the sixteenth in position
From this reading “The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in England and Scotland were rich in popular poetry and in ballads.”
coming next after the fifteenth in position
From this reading “The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in England and Scotland were rich in popular poetry and in ballads.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in England and Scotland were rich in popular poetry and in ballads.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in England and Scotland were rich in popular poetry and in ballads.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading We must define the meaning of "popular" and "ballad" poetry, as used in this chapter.
a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
From this reading We must define the meaning of "popular" and "ballad" poetry, as used in this chapter.
plural of “ballad” — a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
From this reading BALLADS.
plural of “century” — a period of 100 years
From this reading The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in England and Scotland were rich in popular poetry and in ballads.
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading We must define the meaning of "popular" and "ballad" poetry, as used in this chapter.
disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably
From this reading Much confusion and much controversy exist regarding this matter of ballads and popular poetry.
a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement
From this reading Much confusion and much controversy exist regarding this matter of ballads and popular poetry.
determine the essential quality of
From this reading We must define the meaning of "popular" and "ballad" poetry, as used in this chapter.
a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in England and Scotland were rich in popular poetry and in ballads.
have an existence, be extant
From this reading Much confusion and much controversy exist regarding this matter of ballads and popular poetry.
coming next after the fourteenth and just before the sixteenth in position
From this reading The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in England and Scotland were rich in popular poetry and in ballads.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in England and Scotland were rich in popular poetry and in ballads.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading Much confusion and much controversy exist regarding this matter of ballads and popular poetry.
the message that is intended or expressed or signified
From this reading We must define the meaning of "popular" and "ballad" poetry, as used in this chapter.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Much confusion and much controversy exist regarding this matter of ballads and popular poetry.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading We must define the meaning of "popular" and "ballad" poetry, as used in this chapter.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading We must define the meaning of "popular" and "ballad" poetry, as used in this chapter.
literature in metrical form
From this reading POPULAR POETRY.
regarded with great favor, approval, or affection especially by the general public
From this reading POPULAR POETRY.
-ing form of “regard” — deem to be
From this reading Much confusion and much controversy exist regarding this matter of ballads and popular poetry.
possessing material wealth
From this reading The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in England and Scotland were rich in popular poetry and in ballads.
one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; located on the northern part of the island of Great Britain; famous for bagpipes and plaids and kilts
From this reading The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in England and Scotland were rich in popular poetry and in ballads.
coming next after the fifteenth in position
From this reading The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in England and Scotland were rich in popular poetry and in ballads.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in England and Scotland were rich in popular poetry and in ballads.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading We must define the meaning of "popular" and "ballad" poetry, as used in this chapter.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading We must define the meaning of "popular" and "ballad" poetry, as used in this chapter.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We must define the meaning of "popular" and "ballad" poetry, as used in this chapter.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in England and Scotland were rich in popular poetry and in ballads.
Chapter 15 of History of English Literature from "Beowulf" to Swinburne by Andrew Lang holds 93 sentences, grouped into 19 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 15 holds 93 sentences of History of English Literature from "Beowulf" to Swinburne, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of History of English Literature from "Beowulf" to Swinburne by Andrew Lang exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 93 sentences, grouped into 19 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 19 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 15 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in History of English Literature from "Beowulf" to Swinburne, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
